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Speaker
The Speaker of the Commons (often shortened to Speaker) is the presiding officer of the Model House of Commons and is regarded by many as the most prestigious position in the House. The office is currently held by Andrew97. The Speaker of the Commons must remain strictly non-partisan, and renounce all affiliation with his or her former political party when taking office. The Speaker does not take part in debating or voting on items, but they may share their views on amendments. The Speaker's main role is to oversee the smooth running of House activities but this responsibility is divided into many tasks which include: *Putting new items to the House, in the Division Lobby and in cessation. Also, withdrawing items upon request or ones that have expired. This includes bills, motions, amendments, crises, question times, referendums, statements of intent, departmental reviews, motions of no confidence and MHoC Awards. *Sending daily updates to all MPs to inform them of the latest news on MHoC items and put all new updates in the Speaker's Chamber. *Running all public elections (ie General Elections, By-Elections, Deputy Speaker Elections) and party elections when required. *Maintaining order during debates and enforcing the MHoC Constitution. *Interpreting and clarifying the MHoC Guidance Document and MHoC Constitution when necessary. *Publishing voting reviews (unless exceptional circumstances arise) and removing seats from parties that fail to meet the required turnout. *Updating the TSR wiki (this includes updating the Hansards, MHoC Constitution and MHoC Guidance Document). *Allocating MPs seat numbers. *Being a group leader of the MP user group. Also, admitting and removing MPs and their proxies from the user group. *Allowing new parties to form. *Approving dual memberships. *Closing inactive parties. *Punishing individual members and parties for breaking MHoC rules, sometimes alongside the Community Team. *Discussing someone's position as an MP if they miss 2 consecutive legislation votes or have a low voting turnout. *Asking the party that meets the criteria to form a Government. *Asking the party that meets the criteria to form an Opposition. *Helping the Government to appoint a new Prime Minister if the old one resigns or is removed. *Prohibiting a Government member from holding a ministerial office, in an extreme situation. *Authorising polls in the House. In the past, some Speakers have also updated the Motion and Bill Challenge, but they are not expected to do this. There is no set time for which a Speaker can serve but they must pass a Motion of Confidence at the start of every parliamentary term or they will be removed as Speaker. In addition to this, Speakers may also face a Motion of No Confidence against them at any point in their tenure. Speaker elections Speaker elections occur when a Speaker resigns or is removed. Only current and former MPs are eligible to stand in Speaker elections and only current MPs can vote. Manifestos for these elections must be no more than 250 words long. Speaker elections can be conducted by the outgoing Speaker, the Deputy Speaker or any member of the moderation team. The election process takes between 13 and 19 days, depending on whether or not a second round is needed. After leaving office, the Speaker normally returns to the political party they were in before they were elected, unless their political views have dramatically shifted or their original party is either struggling or in a state of turmoil. List of Speakers of the Commons The role of Speaker has existed since the start of the Model House of Commons. In May 2005, MHoC members unanimously decided that a Speaker was required and Vienna was elected as the first Speaker. Since him, there have been 20 other Speakers, with daniel_williams and Saracen's Fez serving as Speaker on two separate occasions and DayneD89 three times. Category:MHoC Category:Speaker